St Edward's Church of England School & Sixth Form College

St Edward’s Church of England School & Sixth Form College London Road, Romford, Essex RM7 9NX

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have an overoptimistic view of how well they and the school are doing. As a result, leaders have not tackled weaknesses identified in the previous inspection rapidly enough.  A succession of temporary headteachers has led to a lack of strategic direction and low staff morale.  Some senior leaders are not effective in their roles. Leaders are not evaluating the impact of their work accurately. As a result, planning for improvement is ill-informed and lacks rigour.  Leaders have not developed effective assessment practices in the main school. As a result, they cannot be sure which pupils or groups of pupils are lagging behind.  Some groups of pupils are underachieving. Not enough pupils are making the progress expected of them in the subjects of science and modern foreign languages.  Leaders and governors have not ensured that pupil premium funding makes a difference for eligible pupils. Disadvantaged pupils do not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

achieve as well, or attend as well, as other pupils in the school or other pupils nationally.  The quality of teaching is widely variable across subjects. Suitable support for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is not provided consistently. This is also the case for pupils who speak English as an additional language, and limits their achievement.  Assessment in the classroom is ineffective. Too often, teachers do not check that pupils understand how to improve their work. In some cases, misconceptions are not addressed.  Across a range of subjects, including science, geography and media studies, work is disorganised or subject coverage is thin. The reliance on temporary teachers has caused disruption with repeated or lost work.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Provision in the sixth form is good.  Support from the Samuel Ward Trust and the current interim headteacher have helped to stabilise the school. February 2018

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Urgently address the inadequate teaching in science by: – employing high-quality specialist teachers of science – ensuring that teachers give pupils challenging tasks that engage them – planning tasks that build pupils’ knowledge and understanding coherently and prepare them well for national examinations.  Accelerate the progress of all pupils, especially that of disadvantaged pupils, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and pupils who speak English as an additional language, by: – improving the quality of teaching and learning in science and modern foreign languages – sharply assessing these pupils’ progress so that their needs can be supported effectively – providing regular and effective classroom support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and for pupils who speak English as an additional language – analysing the impact of this classroom support, identifying what works well and promoting best practice

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that all teachers help pupils to understand how to improve their work and make next steps in their progress – making sure that teachers have high expectations for the quality of work they accept from pupils – ensuring that all pupils attend school regularly.  Rapidly improve the quality of leadership and management by: – establishing secure and robust systems for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the school’s work – evaluating the impact of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and using this evaluation to bring about improvements in provision and outcomes for these pupils – ensuring that senior leaders are adequately skilled and equipped to address areas for improvement – linking the impact of teaching to pupil outcomes – implementing an effective assessment system which helps leaders accurately February 2018 identify pupils who are underachieving

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– strengthening the role of governance, so that leaders are effectively held to account and governors correctly discharge all of their duties. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. February 2018

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The school has suffered from a lengthy period of leadership turbulence. The current interim is the sixth headteacher since the previous inspection. Staff and pupils have experienced too many changes and new starts. Additionally, the school has been negatively affected by financial issues and staffing problems.  Notwithstanding the stabilisation brought to the school through support from the Samuel Ward Trust, and by the temporary appointment of the interim headteacher, current leaders across the school do not have the capacity to bring about the improvements needed. Over time, the school has declined in key areas. A significant number of weaknesses were also present when the school was last inspected and have not been resolved by successive leaders.  The staffing restructure last academic year was not handled sensitively. Subject leaders are angry at losing good staff and feel unsupported by senior leaders. Leaders of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

English and mathematics are working hard to secure positive outcomes for pupils in a context where there are a significant number of temporary staff and long-term supply teachers.  Too many strategies have been implemented without proper planning, oversight or rigorous review. For example, the oversight and evaluation of pupil premium and Year 7 numeracy catch-up funding is weak. Spending on activities and resources simply rolls over from one year to the next with no thought given to which spending has had any impact and which has not.  Funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has not been deployed effectively. A lack of classroom support and resourcing has hampered pupils’ achievement over time and has not addressed attendance issues for some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.  Senior leaders have an inaccurate view about the quality of teaching. The checks they make are ineffective in bringing about improvement. This is because these checks take

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

too little account of pupils’ outcomes over time. This narrow view is slowing the pace of improvement and stopping leaders from targeting where teaching most needs to improve.  The training of newly qualified teachers and trainee teachers by senior leaders has not helped those new to the profession to succeed or improve. Teachers new to the profession reported to inspectors that, due to poor training, some have left or requested to be placed elsewhere. They told inspectors that they have had to request observers from other schools to fulfil their training requirements. As a result, inspectors recommend that the school should not appoint newly qualified teachers.  The system for setting pupils’ targets is incoherent. For example, pupils may be given the same target grades for all their subjects. Pupils who speak English as an additional language are set targets for all subjects based on their ability in English, rather than

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

taking account of any specific subject skills and knowledge they may have. Subject leaders reported to inspectors that, in their view, they managed their data themselves. February 2018  Although fixed-term exclusions have reduced over time, senior leaders are unable to explain why or how this has occurred.  Leaders are developing the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils. Until recently, pupils were taught a range of languages with insufficient lesson time allocated. Pupils’ consequent scant knowledge in modern foreign languages has led to significant underachievement. Current Year 7 pupils now study one language to ensure that their knowledge and understanding is better developed.  Pupils experience a broad range of activities to develop their understanding of life in modern Britain. For example, in citizenship lessons, pupils appreciate the opportunity to run projects which can contribute to change in their community. Such projects include

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

a study of knife crime and local gang culture. Assemblies and tutor time effectively promote the school’s Christian ethos. During the inspection, assemblies encouraged pupils to explore and reflect upon the meaning of Lent and pilgrimage.  The leadership of the sixth form is good. In a short space of time, leaders have eradicated shortcomings from the last academic year. More students are successful in their studies, including disadvantaged students and those who are the most able.  The school has recently been supported by the Samuel Ward Trust, a successful multi- academy trust. The trust has successfully guided the school to appoint a permanent headteacher who starts in April and has recently agreed to take over sponsorship of the school. The trust has helped governors to secure the current interim headteacher and has supported governors in making key strategic financial decisions. This work has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

helped to bring some much-needed stability to the school and has ensured the school’s future. However, the chief executive officer of the trust is right in identifying that there is still much to do.

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Governance of the school

 The governance of the school is inadequate.  Governors have failed to monitor the spending of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.  Governors are aware that the achievement of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is an area of concern. However, they have not checked how the funding for this group of pupils is spent.  Governors were too slow to appoint a permanent headteacher and this has led to a period of instability and decline. They did not readily respond to the recommendations given by Her Majesty’s Inspectors with regards to their monitoring duties and safeguarding compliance.  In order to address the shortcomings of the governing body, a progress board was established in September 2017. It has taken swift action to recruit a headteacher and to place the school on a more stable financial footing. Its remit did not address other shortcomings of the governing body. For example, it still has not monitored the

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Governance of the school

deployment of pupil premium funding and funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Although the progress board quickly commissioned a safeguarding review, they did not check the findings thoroughly. February 2018

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Staff receive regular training to ensure that they have up-to-date information on how to keep pupils safe.  Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and know who to speak to if they have any problems. The school actively promotes a safe culture through assemblies and tutor times. In addition, a number of posters in corridors remind pupils how to stay safe.  Inspectors alerted school leaders to some minor weaknesses in the way that personnel checks on staff are made and recorded. These issues were rectified by the end of the inspection.  Records relating to child protection are maintained well. The school works with a range of external agencies to keep pupils safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment inadequate

 Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low, given pupils’ generally average or above average attainment when they join the school. This is the case both within and between subjects. Too often there is a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Pupils are provided with the same work, whatever their prior attainment.  In a significant number of lessons, pupils are not clear what they are learning about and teachers do not check that pupils have grasped the new learning before moving on. This means that pupils’ misconceptions are not picked up and therefore addressed.  The quality of assessment varies widely across subjects. Too often, pupils are unsure how to improve their work or the next steps needed to make progress.  The quality of support provided by teaching assistants is inconsistent. In the best examples, they work successfully with pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and contribute well to the progress they make. In the worst examples, the limited direction

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment inadequate

and support from the class teacher restricts their impact in the classroom. When this happens, progress for this group of pupils is slow.  The support for pupils who speak English as an additional language is inadequate. Pupils are withdrawn from learning modern foreign languages in order to practise their English. This limits achievement in languages, especially for those pupils whose strengths lie in this area. No teaching assistant support is provided for these pupils across subjects and this has prevented those who speak little English from accessing the curriculum. A Year 7 pupil commented that he had a lot more support in his primary school with practising his English.  Science teaching is inadequate. A large number of classes are taught by non-specialists or supply teachers. As a result, a lack of subject knowledge leads to poor and confusing explanations which hinder pupils’ understanding. Teachers ask pupils to copy

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment inadequate

lengthy notes from the board without being sure that they understand the subject content. A lot of work is repetitive and does not develop scientific thinking or vocabulary. February 2018  The most able pupils are making good progress in mathematics and English. Where teaching is stronger in these areas, higher-ability pupils benefit from teachers’ good subject knowledge, high expectations and incisive questioning that probes their understanding.  Noteworthy strengths exist in a few areas of teaching. English teaching ensures that all pupils understand the examination requirements and have plenty of opportunity to practise extended writing. In physical education, teachers have excellent working relationships with the pupils, pushing them to work harder and faster through praise and encouragement. Thoughtful questioning is evident in business studies and religious education teaching.  Pupils are encouraged to read widely through dedicated tutor time and organised use

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment inadequate

of the library. A Year 7 pupil spoke avidly about a recent author visit. Generally, pupils are confident readers and enjoy reading a variety of books.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Bullying is rare and pupils say that there are many trusted adults they can speak to if they have a problem.  Younger pupils spoke proudly about their contributions to assemblies on a variety of topics, such as living with autism. Pupils were also eager to talk about the achievement display and their ranking in each year group. They highly value the school’s reward system and they appreciate the prizes they receive.  Older pupils report that there is a strong sense of community and that the school’s motto is well received: ‘Life in all its fullness’. Pupils want to make the most of the opportunities the school provides. Pupils benefit from a range of activities which develop their leadership skills, including school council and school ambassadorship.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is generally good. Pupils have a

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Personal development and welfare

good understanding of the importance of rules, respect for others, and of democracy and individual liberty. Consequently, they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Pupils want to do well. They are most concerned by the lack of specialist teaching in science and the impact of long-term supply in other subjects, such as geography and media studies. These concerns were echoed by the parents and carers who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  While instances of poor behaviour are not widespread, neither are they rare. Pupils reported ongoing disruption of particular lessons. Observations during the inspection confirmed this view, including in lessons with cover teachers. On occasion, disruption holds up the learning for significant amounts of time. Low expectations and poorly planned lessons do not help matters. A significant proportion of parents who February 2018 responded to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, expressed concerns that pupils are not well behaved.  Most of the time, pupils’ conduct around the school is orderly and calm. However, some younger pupils reported to inspectors that they felt less safe in the school’s corridors.  Pupils are welcoming and polite to visitors. They are proud of their school and they are keen to report on the school’s strengths. For example, pupils spoke avidly about the

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Behaviour

school musical production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.  Most pupils attend school frequently. However, some disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not attend school regularly enough.  The proportion of fixed-term exclusions has been above the national average for several years. This no longer the case. The proportion is now below the national average. Pupils say that teachers are quick to solve serious issues when they occur.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Disadvantaged pupils make much less progress than other pupils in the school and other pupils nationally. This has remained the same for several years. Leaders and governors have not made sure that pupil premium funding is having sufficient impact.  Pupils from all groups underperform considerably in science and modern foreign languages. Inspectors observed examples of this underperformance in lessons and in pupils’ workbooks. Course content and teaching in science is not preparing pupils well for their GCSE examinations. As a result of insufficient curriculum time for modern foreign languages, pupils are having to catch up very quickly. Inspectors observed pupils learning basic vocabulary at a late stage in their courses.  Progress is hampered in subjects that have been hampered by turbulent staffing and non-specialist teaching. Coverage is thin and work lacks cohesion in science, media studies and geography. Year 9 pupils are underachieving across almost all subjects.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 The school’s own information about the progress and attainment of current pupils is unreliable. Senior leaders have a totally different view of the progress of current pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to the leader who is in charge of this area. Observations of lessons and class workbooks indicate that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are not achieving as well as they might because teachers are not meeting their needs well enough.  Pupils who are at the earliest stages of learning English are making less progress than they should. These pupils have difficulty accessing the curriculum because of the lack of support given to them.  Pupils’ progress in history, English and mathematics is stronger than in other subjects. Leadership and teaching in these subjects are more effective than elsewhere in the curriculum. In 2017, the proportion of pupils who attained a good pass in both GCSE English and mathematics was higher than the national average.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Overall, the most able pupils made good progress in 2017, particularly so in mathematics. This is equally true for current most-able pupils in mathematics. February 2018 Inspectors saw mathematics teaching which challenged these pupils well. In contrast, the most able disadvantaged pupils made considerably less progress in 2017 across the full range of subjects.

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

 Leaders successfully promote high expectations. Students say that they are challenged to aspire and succeed. They are right. Leaders take appropriate action to tackle underperformance.  Standards in the sixth-form examination results dipped last year. The most able students did not achieve enough of the top grades. This was a different picture to previously, where progress over time was strong for all students. Current work by the most able indicates that these students are back on track to achieve highly. One commented that leaders are ‘big on you doing extra reading’.  For those students that need to retake GCSEs in English and/or mathematics, a good proportion succeed in obtaining a pass or a good pass. This has been the case for a number of years.  Students spoke animatedly about the sixth-form mentoring programme with university students who are studying for their doctorates. They appreciate the careers advice and

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

guidance, as well as the extensive enrichment opportunities on offer. One student commented that the school ‘helps you to open doors’. Another said: ‘They really cater for what we want to be.’ As a result, all pupils progress to higher education or employment.  Students enjoy coming to school. Attendance is high and students feel well supported by the sixth-form team. A number of students spoke to inspectors about how approachable they were and how ‘they always keep coming back to you to see if everything is OK’.  Sixth-form students are good role models for younger pupils. They are active in a range of school events and extracurricular clubs, such as the debating club and the gospel choir.  Teaching is much better in the sixth form than in the rest of the school. Teachers know their students well and use assessment information to plan activities that meet the needs of all learners. The level of engagement is high and teachers’ use of demanding,

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

appropriate subject terminology enables students to investigate more complex ideas. For example, in a Year 12 psychology lesson, the teacher skilfully guided students to a thorough understanding of scattergrams and correlation coefficient examples. February 2018

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority Board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 February 2016

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Information about this school

 The school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about the numeracy catch-up premium.  At the time of the inspection, the interim headteacher had been in post for four weeks. She is the sixth headteacher since the last inspection. The senior leadership team comprises two deputy headteachers and two assistant headteachers. At the time of the inspection, one deputy headteacher had left. Two middle leaders have been seconded to the senior leadership team until August 2018.  The regional schools commissioner has decided that the school will become part of the February 2018 Samuel Ward Academy Trust. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust sits on the newly formed progress board which runs alongside the school’s governing body. The progress board is charged with overseeing the transition process.  Approximately a quarter of pupils in the school are disadvantaged. The proportion of

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Information about this school

pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is slightly below the national average.  Only one pupil is currently receiving alternative provision with Koru Education in Harold Hill.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of key stage 4. February 2018

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 58 lessons across the different departments in the school. They also undertook three learning walks to ascertain the quality of provision in science and modern foreign languages and to observe behaviour throughout the school. Some of the observations were carried out with the senior leaders from the school.  Discussions were held with governors, the progress board (including the CEO from the new trust), senior leaders, sixth-form leaders, subject leaders, middle leaders in charge of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and pupils who speak English as an additional language, and teachers.  The inspectors held informal and formal discussions with pupils and observed tutor times, assemblies and pupil interactions during social times.  Inspectors listened to a group of Year 7 pupils read.  Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence,

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Information about this inspection

including the school’s own self-evaluation, performance data, action plans and evaluations, attendance and behaviour records, minutes from meetings, safeguarding files, recruitment checks and pupils’ work.  Inspectors took into account the 74 responses from parents and carers who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. They also took account of the 24 members of staff who completed the staff survey. No pupils responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Liz Smith, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Murray-Hudson Ofsted Inspector February 2018 guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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